


A Matter of Trust

by LibraryMage



Series: Break Your Chains [14]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 11:24:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13053039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibraryMage/pseuds/LibraryMage
Summary: Ahsoka has some questions about Ezra.





	A Matter of Trust

Kanan brought his lightsaber up, catching the other blade on his own.  He disengaged, stepping back to avoid the backhanded slash of the second blade.  He thrust his blade forward, only for it to be deflected, the second blade coming up under the first to strike at his side.  Kanan twisted his blade around, freeing it and bringing it down to block the oncoming blow.  The other blade swung down again, trapping Kanan’s.  With a twist and a yank, Kanan’s weapon was wrenched from his hand and clattered to the ground.  He reached out to pull it back into his hand, but froze as twin white blades hovered just inches from his chest.

“Two-nothing,” Ahsoka said with a smile.

“Didn’t realize we were keeping score,” Kanan said as Ahsoka switched off the blades and hung her weapons on her belt.

“Maybe _you_ weren’t,” Ahsoka said.  She called Kanan’s lightsaber to her hand and held it out to him.

“Thanks,” Kanan said, taking his weapon from her.  “For sparring, I mean.  It helps training Ezra if I have an opponent who’s not him every once in a while.”

“It’s no trouble,” Ahsoka said.  “I actually kind of missed it.”

“I know what you mean,” Kanan said, staring down at the weapon in his hand.  It had been years since he’d felt anything he could described as _missing_ the Temple, but ever since Ezra had come into his life, those feelings had begun to creep up again.

“I know I haven’t been around very long,” Ahsoka said, sitting down on a crate and wincing slightly, her hand jumping to her knee, “but from what I’ve heard, you’ve taught him well.”

“I can't take all the credit,” Kanan said, sitting down on another crate a few feet away.  At Ahsoka’s curious look, he elaborated.  “He had training before I met him.”

“So how’d he end up with you?” Ahsoka asked.

“I would’ve thought Hera told you about him,” Kanan said, now a little on edge.  If Ahsoka didn’t already know about Ezra’s past, Kanan didn’t know her well enough to predict what her reaction would be to learning about it.  He knew who Ahsoka’s master had been, and about the painful history both Skywalker and Kenobi had had with the former Sith.

“All Hera told me was you had a new recruit,” Ahsoka said.  “And that he’s Force sensitive.”

Kanan remained silent, trying to figure out exactly what he should tell her, weighing the risks and benefits of lying to her versus telling her the truth.  If he didn’t tell her and she found out some other way…

“Is there something you think I should know?” Ahsoka asked, her eyes narrowing just slightly as she studied Kanan’s face.

“Before I met him,” Kanan said, the words coming out slowly, painfully, “he was Darth Maul’s apprentice.”

Ahsoka said nothing as she took in the information.  Not only was Maul somehow still alive, but he’d trained an apprentice.  And that apprentice was the quiet little kid from Hera’s crew.

“He was just a little kid,” Kanan said.  Ahsoka didn’t have to sense his anxiety through the Force.  She could hear it in his voice as he was overcome with the need to defend Ezra.  “He was only nine years old and --”

“Kanan,” Ahsoka said.  Kanan fell silent.  Ahsoka paused as she tried to figure out what to say.  It was hard to reconcile her initial impressions of Ezra with what Kanan had just told her.  She didn’t know him that well yet, but he seemed like a sweet kid.  Perceptive, smart, dedicated.  A little skittish at times, but considering he’d recently escaped Imperial custody, who could blame him?  Ahsoka had sensed darkness in him when she’d first met him, but knowing where it came from…

“What about his parents?” Ahsoka asked.

“Dead,” Kanan said, a bitter edge to his voice.  “He was alone on the streets when Maul found him.  He took advantage of that to make Ezra dependent on him.”

“I understand,” Ahsoka said.  “It’s just not something I expected.”

“How _did_ he end up with you, then?” she asked after a brief silence.

For a moment, Kanan said nothing, and Ahsoka could practically see the wheels spinning in his head as he silently debated how he should answer.

“I’m sure you can guess that Maul wasn’t a good master,” Kanan said.  “Ezra wasn’t safe, and I helped him get away.”

Ahsoka got the sense there was something he wasn’t telling her, but she chose not to press the issue.  Besides, it didn’t matter.  This new information didn’t change what she thought about the kid, at least not where it mattered.  Whatever history she or Anakin or Obi-Wan had with Maul, Ezra wasn’t a part of that and she couldn’t, _wouldn’t_ , hold it against him.

“You can trust him, Ahsoka,” Kanan said.  “He’s a good kid.  He just made a bad choice when he was too young to understand it.”

Ahsoka tried, not quite successfully, to hold back a bitter laugh.

“Knowing Maul, I doubt any choice he gave Ezra was a real one, anyway,” she said.  She looked over at Kanan with a small smile.  “He’s lucky he met you.  A lot of people wouldn’t have seen it the way you do.”

“I was a little worried you’d be one of them,” Kanan said.  “You’re taking this a lot better than I thought you would.”

“You trusted my judgement about Rex,” Ahsoka said.  “The least I can do is return the favor.”

Kanan shifted nervously where he sat.  Ahsoka pretended not to notice.

“Besides,” she said, “with you around, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> so this was short and not that great, but I wanted to a) show how Ahsoka learns about some of Ezra's past, and b) avoid the "secrets lead to needless drama" trope by having Ahsoka completely understand why no one told her sooner


End file.
